1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to traction systems, and in particular to a portable traction system having an open frame which may be mounted directly on a bed, treatment table, floor, or other flat surface.
In most modern hospitals, traction is applied to a patient using an electrically controlled winch systems which may be mounted on specially constructed beds having the necessary mounting hardware. Such traction winch systems and the mounting-compatible beds are quite expensive and generally not suitable for home and other out-patient use. Moreover, such traction systems are not portable and cannot easily be transported to remote locations where, in emergencies, the availability of traction equipment may be critical.
For these reasons, it would be desirable to provide inexpensive, portable traction systems suitable for home and emergency use, where the traction systems may be mounted directly on conventional beds, floors, or other flat surfaces. In particular, it would be desirable to provide such equipment capable of providing both cervical and pelvic traction wherein the patient will be able to manually actuate the system to provide a preselected tension force for the traction. Finally, it would be desirable that the system be fail-safe in that it would be virtually impossible for the system to apply a traction force greater than the force set into the system.
2. Description of the Background Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,356,816 and 4,466,427, issued to the inventor herein, describe portable traction devices employing manually-actuated tension systems. The tension system described in the '427 patent is substantially the same as the system employed by the traction device of the present invention. Floor and bed mounted devices for applying cervical or pelvic traction to a patient are available from the Lossing Orthopedic Company, 2217 Nicollet Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minn. 55404 under the trade names Backtrac.RTM. and Necktrac.RTM.. Some of the devices employ free-standing frames which may be mounted on a floor or bed. One of the devices is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,151. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,856,003 and 3,276,444 describe free weight systems for applying cervical traction, where the systems are detachably mounted on patient beds.